What yo name be?

Dang, its been a while huh? I’m sorry. I will make it up to you later on in the conversation. Let’s see. What has been going on for the past three weeks since we last spoke? Well, on January 14^th we had our 20 week sonogram where the doctor thankfully confirmed that the baby is still a girl. I was hoping that in the 3 weeks since our last sonogram that she hadn’t grown a ….you know.  This sonogram was so much for fun than the last ones we have had because the doctor spent a lot of time measuring and checking all sorts of stuff and in the meantime we got to watch her bounce around in her bubble. I imagine the womb is a lot like one of those huge blow up jumpie things that people rent for their kid’s birthdays. But a little bit more on the weightless NASA level. 

Here are a couple pics from the sonogram

Around the same day as the sonogram I started to feel baby girl kicking a lot. It felt really weird going from little flutter bubbles like I felt in the beginning to now feeling full on kicks. I was even able to feel her kick by pushing gently on my lower stomach with my hand.  Since then she has been a little crazy where’s the partay girl. I have to tell you though. It is the best feeling in the world. You know they are alive and kickin’ and it makes their impending arrival feel even more real (and close!)

Anyway, today I actually want to talk about names. I’ve always planned on naming my child something that would keep her as individual as possible, but without going overboard. I have never understood when people give their baby a name that is one of the most popular names out there at the time. For example, since the whole Twilight fiasco, the names Bella, Edward and Jacob have been among the most popular baby names. For real people? Can you think of something a little less trendy and, oh I don’t know, less vampire-saga-ish? In about 5 years those kids will be in their Kindergarten class with a whole bunch of kids with the same name….because of a popular book. Dumb, I say!

Then there are those people who go a little too far with wanting their kids to have unusual names. The best example I can think of is a boy that was the son of one of my mother’s students years ago when she taught nursing. The kid’s name was Shithead…I kid you not. It was pronounced She-the-id, but, um, hello it is spelled Shit Head! What was she thinking???

I like to think the name we chose for our baby is somewhere in the middle of Bella and Shithead. But before I reveal it, I want to touch on one more irksome thing that people do. Take it as more of a warning than a rant. I cannot freakin’ stand it when someone (whether it be me or anyone else having a baby) tells another person the name they have chosen for their baby and that person says they don’t like the name. That is the rudest thing ever and if you are guilty of doing that, STOP! If someone tells me they don’t like the name I chose for my child, they will likely get a broken nose (since tasers are illegal).

Ok, so are you ready? The name we chose for our baby girl is inspired by two people. My sister Cori and my grandmother Jean. Her name is going to be….

Cora Jean Newsom

Keepin' it Real

I have officially hit that point in pregnancy where strangers no longer have to ask themselves is she pregnant?  For instance, the janitor at my office building whom I see and say good morning to everyday (who is also extremely shy) said to me last week without hesitation, So, how is the baby coming along? That is when I knew for sure I had hit rolly polly status. It was on Tuesday after having four days off for the New Year and I had had a feeling that morning that I had hit a growth spurt. My normally comfortable stretchy black pants were feeling slightly too snug and when my boss saw me the same morning he also commented with, Wow, you are getting big!

I am trying not to be one of those women who acts like its some huge surprise that I am bigger now that I am with child.  I mean, Duh! At my first prenatal appointment my midwife told me that I should gain about 30 pounds. That number didn’t seem too scary at the time since by then I had only gained one lonesome pound. It wasn’t until Wednesday of last week that the reality of the weight gain set in. I had my monthly midwife appointment and when I got on the scale it said that I had gained 14 pounds in all. The month before I had only gained 7 lbs, but now I was into double digits and that was a little bit of a shock. (Denial is a wicked wicked beast). So when I got home that night I did what every normal girl does…I stripped down to my underwear, got out my makeup mirror and checked out my butt in the mirror. It had a couple more dimples than normal, but I didn’t gag as I imagined I would. Of course, my husband walked in (he has a sixth sense about when I have my clothes off) and asked me what I was doing. I told him about how much weight I had gained, and like the sweet husband that he is, he sat me down and convinced me that it was all belly (and boobs, he added) and that I shouldn’t worry about the weight gain because he wants the baby to come out big and fat. Every day since then he has told me about twenty times a day how sexy I am (luckily I am a sucker for overkill).

I felt much better after this…that is, until the next day when I discovered the swimsuit catalogue for Victoria Secret in my mailbox. I flipped through the first couple of pages before realizing I wasn’t emotionally prepared to see those skinny stick figures modeling tiny bikinis. Thank goodness that scrawny bitch Gisele isn’t still a model for VS. Ever since I read an article where she says that childbirth for her didn’t hurt one bit I have wanted to sit on her face while screaming does that hurt? Huh, huh? Does that hurt?

This isn’t the best belly shot (and this dumb blog website wont allow you to rotate), so tilt your head and enjoy!